See part 1 for all of the disclaimers
Lost Paradise 5
It looked like bad days didn't exist in Cancun, Nicole thought as she stretched on her bath towel on the deck of the Chalchi. They had sailed away after both she and Kris had gone for a swim in the Caribbean Sea and then had breakfast. She lay on her side, watching Kris while the dark-haired woman threw her fishing line far away from the boat. Nicole took pleasure as her eyes roamed over Kris' muscled body, her bathing suit leaving very little to the imagination. It had been fun to see the older woman's smile at getting a chance to do some deep-sea fishing. Nicole preferred to watch her lover enjoying herself and smiled as Kris wrestled with one fish after the other, reeling them in.
Having docked at a marina in Cancun, they headed towards Chichén Itzá, one of the largest archeological sites on the peninsula with the most impressive Mayan ruins. The trip to the site had taken a few hours of driving by car, but Isabella had promised them it would be worth it. The mysterious temples and pyramids of the Maya rested deep within the jungles of Mexico and extended into the limestone shelf of the Yucatan peninsula.
Nicole was excited at the prospect of learning so much about the long lost civilization. She had often heard and read stories about the Greeks and Romans as well as the Egyptians, but the Maya were very mysterious to the young woman. She listened with rapt fascination to their guide as the young man explained that the Maya had mapped the heavens, evolved the only true writing system native to the Americas and were masters of mathematics. They had also invented the calendars that we used today. The mystery of the Maya was what had happened to such a well-developed society. The Mayan civilization had started to decline around A.D. 900 when - for reasons unknown - the southern Mayans abandoned their cities.
Kris walked silently beside Nicole, taking in the breathtaking sight of the surrounding temples and pyramids. It was still early in the morning and the tourists sparsely populated the area, which was fine with Kris. Roughly at the center of the site was the massive Kukulcán pyramid called El Castillo, the castle. They made their way toward the construction and slowly started climbing the numerous steps, stopping once in a while as Nicole caught her breath.
Nicole looked up at her amused lover and smirked. "You think it's so funny, don't ya?" she said and laughed. "As soon as we get back to the island, I'll join you for your daily run. I really need to get in shape!"
Kris shook her head and grinned. "It still won't help you now." She waited a few more seconds as Nicole took another deep breath and both continued their climb.
"Maybe not," Nicole agreed, "But at least that way, I'll be able to keep up with you!"
Kris could feel an evil grin tugging at her lips. The chance to tease the young woman in public was too good to pass up. "You were doing great keeping up with me last night." She said, thinking back with a wave of pleasure to their night of passionate lovemaking. As guessed, Kris watched as a deep colored blush crawled over her lover's neck and cheeks, causing Kris to smile and give her young partner a gentle pat on her butt.
"At least I'm in shape for that." Nicole finally said with a grin.
The climb was quite a challenge and many simply turned around and made their way back down. Those who made it all the way up to the top of the pyramid were rewarded with a spectacular view of the Mayan city and the surrounding countryside. The trip inside was a total opposite, Nicole thought as they walked into the dark and humid corridors and chambers. Both quickly turned around and proceeded to make their way back down.
One of the nice things about Chichén Itzá, Kris thought as they walked among the dark portals, was that they were free to go into almost all of the ruins. Many still had the musty smell of the past, still present after over 1000 years. "Now there's something for you." Kris heard Nicole say, causing her to break out of her reverie.
"It's called the Temple of the Warriors." Nicole explained, just knowing that the name of the temple fit her tall, dark-haired companion.
Kris lifted an eyebrow at the petite woman and watched her as she brushed her hand over the carved columns. "Something for me huh?" she grinned.
"Yep," Nicole easily replied. "You look like the warrior type. Tall and strong, you have a commanding presence," Nicole continued and tilted her head slightly, looking up at Kris, "And you're one excellent protector." She thought back to Kris' reaction towards her father's attack on her. "My knight in shining armor." Nicole smiled and then laughed at seeing the sudden blush crawling over the tall woman's cheeks. "Oooh, that's so cute!" Nicole giggled and gave her lover a quick kiss on the lips.
"Humph…" was all Kris managed to say and scratched at her jaw, not sure how to reply to this. "Come on, let's go." She simply said with a smile.
The Temple of the Warriors was the most awe-inspiring ruin on the complex. The structure was massively built and was surrounded by hundreds of carved columns that continued on into the jungle. That part of the ruin was still unrestored and it was an unsettling sight to see how easily the forest had reclaimed the area. The last ruin they visited was called the Nunnery. It was a group of ruins that contained some of the best-preserved structures in Chichén Itzá. The buildings looked like the living quarters for some of the very rich and powerful, probably the houses of the elite Mayans. Every square foot of wall was carved and had intricate paintings decorating them. The buildings were huge and like most of all the other ruins, Kris and Nicole were able to walk in and explore the interior.
"I would love to be able to go back in time and see who lived here," Nicole said as they slowly walked the darkened corridors. "Just walk around and see people doing their daily chores, dressed in colorful clothes, to hear what type of music they played then, to be able to smell food cooking over fires." She marveled at the surroundings as she continued, smiling at Kris. "Did you know that all those buildings were built without any metal tools, beasts of burden or even the wheel? How did they go from one place to another when they didn't even have horses?" So many unanswered questions Nicole thought as she found a dark recess and peered in.
"You love all that history stuff, don't you?" Kris gently asked. Nicole was an encyclopedia of information, always willing to share knowledge and was always eager to learn even more whenever she could. Kris often saw Nicole reading, from simple tourist brochures to history books.
"I do." Nicole replied simply. "Be it Mayans, Romans, Egyptians or Greeks, I love hearing about the legends and myth surrounding those civilizations. Sometimes I find myself dreaming about those times and imagine myself walking the roads of ancient Greece." At that she shyly smiled and looked up at her smiling lover. "It's silly, isn't it?"
Kris shook her head slowly and gently brushed her hand against Nicole's cheek. "No," Kris replied with a rumbling voice. "It's not silly." She understood the young woman perfectly. How to explain the images that went through her mind when she had looked at the ruins she saw in Rome and Greece? The images had seemed so real to Kris…soldiers and horses on battlefields, yells and cries coming from wounded men lying on the ground, thoughts of Gods and Goddesses, wreaking havoc on ordinary humans. Kris took a deep breath and shook her head. Too many movies, she told herself and stuck her head into the dark recess Nicole was looking in.
"I wonder what's in there?" Nicole asked as she moved slowly inside, curiosity getting the best of her.
"Go check it out." Kris told her with a grin. She knew that all of the ruins were safe or else they would have cordoned off the dangerous areas to keep the tourists out. "I'll wait here."
"You sure?" Nicole asked and saw the dark-haired woman nod with a smile. She slowly turned her attention back to the dark opening and started walking deeper inside. She could feel her heart beating against her chest, nervousness slowly getting a hold of her but the curiosity of finding out what lay at the end of the small corridor guided her even deeper. The walls were gradually getting closer to each other and Nicole soon found her shoulders brushing against the ancient walls. There were several intersections and turns that soon led to a dead end, a solid wall of limestone blocked the way. Disappointed about not finding any incredible secret chamber or something, Nicole sighed and reached a hand out to touch the wall and suddenly felt something furry and multi legged run across her hand. That did it! With a small shriek, Nicole quickly turned around and bolted out of the dark corridor, longing to be back in the bright sunshine and beside a very tall, dark and muscled woman.
Kris had been studying some carvings on the walls when Nicole came running out of the dark corridor. She quickly reached a shaking Nicole and divided her attention between her young partner and the recess she had just ran out of. "Nick, what's wrong?" she asked as she tried to calm Nicole who was out of breath. She kept shaking her blonde head and kept her eyes fixed on the entrance. "Nicole," Kris tried again. "What happened? Did somebody scare you?" The dark-haired woman could feel her blood start boiling at the thought of somebody trying to do anything to Nicole. She had heard about young pickpockets working the streets of Cancun, like in any major city, maybe they found it easier to work in darkened corridors, preying on unsuspecting tourists.
"…Touched me…big…didn't see…" Nicole wasn't making any sense. Her words were separated by her trying to get her breathing under control. She saw that Kris was getting angry and tried to explain better. "…It was dark…never saw…"
Kris turned and started to walk towards the dark corridor. 'Whoever's in there is going to regret what they just did!' Kris said to herself and felt her jaw muscles clench and relax, over and over again. A small but firm hand caught the taller woman's arm and Kris looked down at Nicole who was still shaking her head.
"No…wait!" Nicole quickly said and took one last deep breath and started to giggle nervously.
"What's so funny?" Kris asked a bit gruffly. Somebody had scared the daylights out of Nicole and all she could do was laugh? "Let me go and check what…" Kris started.
"It was some kind of…creature." Nicole spoke at the same time. She watched as Kris stared at her, her brows furrowed in concentration, then one shot up and Kris looked at Nicole in question.
"It was what?" Kris asked, not sure that she had heard correctly.
'This is sooo embarrassing!' Nicole thought. She cleared her throat and looked up shyly at the still fuming woman. "Some kind of furry creature crawled over my hand." She explained in a whisper.
Kris just stared at the younger woman, all thoughts of doing bodily damage to the invisible assailant forgotten. "A furry creature?" she asked. Kris took a deep breath to calm her nerves and crossed her long arms over her chest. Nicole looked like she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. The green eyes were locked on the blue and Kris saw Nicole nod slightly. Everything was all right. Nobody had tried to harm Nicole. Kris could feel a laugh slowly build inside her and she bit the inside of her cheek and shook her head. "Huh huh."
"I didn't mean to scare you!" Nicole apologized, "It was dark and I put my hand on the wall and…" Nicole frowned at Kris. Either the woman was shaking with anger or she was trying her best not to laugh. A closer inspection revealed that Kris seemed to find the situation very funny. Nicole planted her fists on her hips and glared at the taller woman. "This is not funny, Kristina!"
Kris couldn't hold it any longer and laughed, partly relieved that nothing serious had happened and partly because she couldn't keep the image of something walking over Nicole's hand out of her head. Her laughter only caused her to get a frustrated sigh from her younger companion and watched as Nicole stormed off towards the exit. Kris easily jogged after her.
"I'm sorry Nick," Kris said, trying to stop laughing but had difficulties keeping it under control. She gently reached Nicole's arm and turned the smaller woman to face her. "I'm not laughing at you love." Kris said softly. "I'm just glad that you're okay.
"I was really scared." Nicole said in a soft voice and soon found herself wrapped in strong arms.
Kris gently brushed her hand over Nicole's hair and glared at a couple who stared at them. They quickly left the women alone. "Do you want to skip visiting the caverns?" Kris felt Nicole shake her head and then looked down at her.
"No." she smiled shyly. "I'd like to go. But keep an eye out for furry, multi-legged somethings, okay?" she grinned, feeling better already.
"I will." Kris chuckled and gave Nicole a hug before letting her go. "Come on."
East of the major Chichén Itzá ruins was a dark, underground world the Mayans called Cenoté. They are deep water filled sinkholes formed by water dripping through the soft limestone above. Since the porous soil held little water, these underground bodies were extremely important to the Mayan city. Kris made her way into the cavern through a vertical hole with narrow stair steps carved by the Mayans themselves. She made sure that Nicole was following close behind, looking back once in a while to check up on Nicole's progress. One misstep on the slimy ledges threatened to send people falling over twenty feet.
The air was thick and musty, but once their eyes got used to the light level, it was worth handling the smell. The spectacle offered to them was breathtaking. Stalactites of blood red limestone seemed to ooze from the dripping walls. Ahead was a strange green pool of glowing water. They slowly approached the pool and noticed roots of the trees above hanging before them. In their search for water, they had penetrated the ceiling, dropping fifty feet to the pool below. It looked like an eerie underground forest.
As they crawled under some low hanging stalactites, an incredible scene greeted them. A beautiful blue green pool of unknown depth stretched out before Kris and Nicole. A massive stalactite hung down, just inches from touching the surface and above was a piercing beam of light that streamed in from the ceiling, illuminating the pool and the entire chamber.
"This is so amazing," Nicole whispered in awe and then smiled shyly as her stomach made itself being heard. "Guess it's lunch time already."
Kris smiled and looked down at her watch and frowned. "No wonder you're hungry!" Kris said as she grinned at Nicole. "It's passed dinner time."
"You're kidding right?" she said as she pulled Kris' wrist closer to her face to see the time herself. "It's a good thing we ate earlier!"
"We visited most of the site. Let's go back to the boat so we can start heading back to Isla Mujeres?" Kris asked and smiled as Nicole nodded vigorously.
"I'm looking forward to sleeping in a room that doesn't move up and down with every wave." She grinned. "Don't get me wrong! I loved the sailboat but…" Nicole trailed.
Kris chuckled and guided the smaller woman back towards the steps that would lead them outside. "I know what you mean. The next two days will be spent relaxing on the beach at the villa before we head back to Montreal Sunday night."
"I can't believe this is only Friday. I had such a wonderful time here Kris." Nicole smiled warmly at her companion, lightly touching her arm, "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. I had fun too."
The two women made their way to the surface and then towards the marina where Isabella was waiting for them to sail back to Isla Mujeres. With a late flight on Sunday, it would give them nearly two full days to enjoy the sun and beaches in Mexico. Both of them were starting new jobs on Monday, Kris teaching at the stunt school and Nicole would start as a cameraperson assistant for a two month contract. She would finally be doing what she always dreamed of doing; learning and working behind a camera. That new job, even for a short period of time, would lead Nicole in a new direction and towards her goal of her dream career. That contract would also last until just before Kris was due back in Austria.
Kris had a plan concerning that, but she chose to keep the idea to herself a little longer. They were both going home and would start living as a couple, especially with their new found intimacy. Kris just wanted to see if their kind of relationship was exactly what Nicole wanted. Even though Kris was madly in love with the younger woman, she was still Nicole's first lover. Kris remembered her first love, a beautiful woman from Vienna. The world had stopped existing for Kris, only seeing Marlene. She was the most perfect woman Kris had lay her eyes on, finding no wrongs about her, until the novelty of their relationship wore off. With eyes seeing more realistically, Kris had seen that Marlene wasn't the woman for her and had started looking elsewhere. Kris often heard stories about first loves, and wanted to give Nicole a chance to see what she was really like, any time of day and in all types of situations. Living together would take care of that and would rub off some of that puppy love Kris felt Nicole had for her. Kris still couldn't think of why anybody would fall in love with her. She had a bad temper sometimes, didn't like talking much, mostly kept to herself and was a workaholic. 'What did Nicole ever see in me?' Kris silently asked herself but secretly hoped that this time, she had finally found her soulmate.
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Mark Dunham shifted in his seat for the fifth time in five minutes. What he hated the most about traveling was the waiting to get aboard planes. He only wished that the time he had just spent covering the boat race in Cancun had been longer. Even though he had been working all weekend, it had been a relaxing time, enjoying the sun, the sea and all those women! Now it was time to go back to more serious work. Sitting at the airport, he was waiting for his flight back home along with many other photographers from all over the world.
Trying to waste time, he had bought a magazine dealing mostly with European celebrities, interested in seeing who was the most popular in Europe these days. With many actors and celebrities coming for events or to film movies in Montreal from France, England or Italy, it always helped the photographer to see which celebrity was the most in demand. He would hunt them down to take pictures and then sell them for a hefty profit to different magazines. He was leafing through the magazine when a fellow photographer from Germany sat down beside him. He nodded before turning his attention back to the article before him.
Scanning the article quickly, he flipped the page to gaze upon the picture of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Either the woman was very tall or the people surrounding her were very short. Her long, black hair cascaded on the broad shoulders and the high cheekbones and angular face gave her an exotic look. But what impressed Mark the most were the incredibly blue eyes looking back at the camera.
"She's a beauty, isn't she?" his neighbor said, pointing at the picture with his chin. "She's one of the hottest celebrities in Europe right now."
Mark took another look at the woman and smiled. "She's a hot one for sure." He vaguely remembered seeing this woman before and couldn't figure out from where. He quickly scanned the article for a name. "Kristina Von Deering." He muttered to himself. "She's a stuntwoman?" he asked the German.
Another photographer grabbed the magazine out of the Canadian's hands and leered at the picture. "She's just another dyke." He said with contempt and handed the magazine back. "I saw her and her new girlfriend a few minutes ago. She's a cute little thing. And I thought that all dykes looked like truck drivers." The American snickered. "That blonde is far from looking like that!"
"Kristina is here?" The German photographer asked. "Pictures of her sell very well. She's a real money maker."
"Yeah, I saw her and the blonde step out of a limo some time ago." The American shrugged. "Some people go nuts over her and her latest conquests. I much prefer hunting the Hollywood scene."
"I thought she was in Montreal for three months." The German spoke to himself. "And with another girlfriend. Damn, that woman has had more lovers than a sailor!" he quickly reached for his bag and took his camera out of it. "I'm going after them." He said as he shouldered his bag and then left in a hurry.
Mark watched the photographer leave and looked back at the picture. 'She's in Montreal for three months.' He silently said. 'Judging by the German's reaction, I'm sure I can make a few bucks out of following her.' He leaned back in his seat and smiled. Kristina was right in his back yard, so to speak. Being a freelance photographer had its ups sometimes. He simply took the pictures and sold them. He didn't have to deal with boring assignments. He was his own master. He simply went where the money was and right now, it seemed like it was with a certain woman named Kristina Von Deering. He had a good feeling about this.
He listened as his flight for Montreal was announced and stood up. He shouldered his bag and headed towards the gate with his plane tickets in his hand. Something caught his attention and he turned his head, spotting the tall Austrian with a shorter woman walking beside her. Kristina was laughing at something the blonde was saying and he spotted the stuntwoman's hand gently brushing against the smaller woman's back. Mark smiled. Lady luck was on his side. Kristina and her girlfriend were on the same plane as he was. It would make his finding her a lot easier. The only thing he had to do now was to follow her and see where she lived.
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Kris and Nicole stepped out of the limousine, unaware of the taxi that had stopped a few houses down the road, its only passenger watching them intently. Kris watched as the driver took the bags out of the trunk and put them down in front of the front door. She smiled as she handed him a few bills and took the bags herself and walked in the house right behind Nicole.
Nicole blindly searched for the light. Before she found the switch, she heard the thump of the suitcases and then felt two strong hands gripping her hips gently. Nicole closed her eyes as Kris leaned her chest against her back. She smiled as Kris brushed her hair aside and softly kissed her neck. "Hmmm, this feels so nice." Nicole mumbled. "But we have to unpack and…" she tried to continue explaining but Kris' hands had found their way up front and it was increasingly difficult to even think.
"Would you rather unpack the bags or go to bed. It's getting late." Kris whispered seductively in Nicole's ear.
"What bags?" Nicole smiled as she held one of Kris' hands in hers and guided her lover towards the bedroom. "I think the unpacking can wait." Nicole decided.
Neither cared that it was late in the evening and that both were starting new jobs in the morning. What mattered was to find themselves once again in each other's arms. Nicole had longed all day to hold Kris, but the sudden appearance of photographers at the airport in Cancun had made everything difficult. The slightest movement of a hand on a shoulder or back, and the smallest of smiles between them got the photographers snapping pictures like crazy. They didn't want to feed the paparazzi intentionally.
Kris had seen Nicole's reaction to all of the flashing cameras, she saw the worried and slightly scared look on the younger woman's face. Thankful for their first class tickets allowing them to get on board first, Kris had guided them through the gate at the first call for their flight. Nicole had said that she didn't care who knew about their relationship, but what had scared the younger woman the most had been the sudden rush towards them by the photographers and the intense barrage of questions called out to them. Kris had simply held one hand up at them and shook her head, refusing to answer their questions.
Nicole was comfortably settled against Kris, her head resting just under the taller woman's chin, her right arm and leg sprawled over the muscled body. Both their breathing had begun to get back to its normal rhythm and a thin layer of sweat covered their bodies. Nicole smiled as she kept remembering Kris' voice moan her name when she had made love to her. She had quickly learned what pleased Kris and had taken great pleasure in putting her newly found knowledge into practice. She was obviously doing something right if she judged by the rapidly beating heart under her ear and Kris' shaky breathing. Nicole had been so worried of not being able to satisfy her, knowing that Kris had had many lovers before her. But the older woman's reaction to her touch confirmed that she was doing everything right.
Thinking back to one of the questions asked by a journalist at the airport, Nicole couldn't help not thinking about it. 'How long will this new girlfriend last Kris?' one of the men had asked, causing a few others to chuckle. Kris had glared at him, silencing them all at once. Only Nicole's gentle but firm pull on Kris' hand had saved the journalist from being bowled over by Kris who was quickly getting angry. No matter how many times Kris told her that she loved her, Nicole kept wondering if their relationship would be different from all the ones Kris had been through previously. She wondered if this one would last for a long time or if Kris would get tired of it and start looking elsewhere. Sudden tears started forming in Nicole's eyes at the thought of Kris wanting to leave her for another woman and she quickly wiped her eyes before Kris could notice. The last thing she wanted to do was to talk about something that might never happen.
Kris caught the slight movement and heard the light sniffle. "Hey," Kris softly asked. "What's wrong?" she gently brushed her fingers through her lover's blonde hair and frowned.
"I was just thinking about the photographers and journalists at the airport." Nicole replied, 'Better to say half a truth than lie.'
"They really scared you, didn't they?"
"How do you get used to that?" Nicole asked. "Why do they follow you like that?"
Kris took a deep breath and let it go slowly. 'Why indeed?' "You never get use to it." She replied simply. "You just have to learn to deal with it the best way possible."
"I've heard of actors and singers having to deal with this," Nicole said, her tears back under control. "But I've never heard of stunt people generating this kind of reaction from them. Am I wrong?"
"You're not wrong. We don't usually get that much attention from them." Kris said softly. She could feel that Nicole was much calmer now. Maybe it had been a mix of surprise at seeing all those people heading their way and the fact that Nicole was tired that had gotten to the younger woman. Kris knew that the next time something like that happened, Nicole would be ready for it. She had been lucky so far. Since she had arrived in Montreal, this was the first time that she had been spotted by the media.
"The journalists started hounding me about five years ago." Kris continued without being prompted. "A childhood friend of mine had starred in a German production. The night of the premier, she had an argument with her boyfriend and, not wanting to go to the premier alone, she asked me to go with her." Kris smiled at the memory. They had been two young girls barely over eighteen, in a party mood with no adults watching over them. What an evening that had been! "Even though she was just a friend, the photographers wrongly assumed that something more than just friendship was going on."
Nicole shifted so she could look at Kris while she spoke. "So what happened?"
"After seeing the newspapers and magazines some time later, Sandra and I thought it was hilarious, but her parents didn't."
"But they knew that she had a boyfriend, right?" Nicole asked, completely caught up by the story Kris was telling.
"Yes they knew. But the articles that were written, most of them lies, caused the big problem. Afraid that Sandra wouldn't get any future offers for movie deals, her mother told her to stop hanging around with me." Kris could feel the hurt slowly creep back into her soul at losing the only friend she had ever had. "They moved to Los Angeles soon after that and we never saw each other again."
"That's sad." Nicole said softly, seeing the hurt in her lover's eyes. "But you had other friends right?"
Kris shook her head slowly. "I had a lot of acquaintances, but none were close enough to call friends. Besides, it hurt too much when she left. I didn't want to go through that again, and I had no time for any social activities. I was getting more work as a stuntwoman so I gave work my full attention."
Nicole wanted to get Kris out of her sad mood and said the first thing that came to her mind. "But you have a friend now. Me!" She smiled, as Kris started laughing, then in a more serious voice said, "I will never hurt you Kris. I love you too much for that."
Kris softly kissed Nicole's head and closed her eyes briefly. "Even though we never mean to, sometimes we unintentionally end up doing just that." Kris softly said. "But the last thing I want to do is hurt you too." She smiled at Nicole. "It's getting late and we have to wake up early. Good night Nick."
Nicole smiled at her lover and stretched a little to give her a kiss then went back to her original position; half-sprawled over Kris' body and holding on tight. "Good night Kris."
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Mark Dunham had followed the two women home and wrote the stuntwoman's address in his pocket book. The photographer had then gone back to get his own car then came back to wait, wanting to see if Kris or her girlfriend would come out of the house again. But when he came back, nothing had happened. All the house lights had been turned off for the night. Taking a chance that they were asleep, Mark drove to a 24-hour restaurant not too far away and ordered something to eat. He had called his contact working at one of Montreal's best-selling showbusiness magazines and had informed her of Kris' presence in the city. A verbal contract had been agreed upon over the phone between Claire Gilbert and Mark for some pictures. The journalist had mentioned something about wanting to interview the stuntwoman and up-to-date pictures of the Austrian would be a nice addition to the article. Not knowing Kris' schedule, Mark had gone back to the house after eating and waited for the stuntwoman to come out of the house, ready to follow her anywhere she went and take pictures.
Kris' garage door opened around 5:30 am and the roar of a motorcycle sounded in the quiet morning air. The tall woman slowly drove her Harley out of the garage while the blonde woman closed the door and joined Kris on the bike. Both women wore black leather jackets and jeans. He could see that Kris was saying something to the smaller woman but couldn't understand what they were talking about due to the distance between them and him. Mark lifted his camera and zoomed in on both women as Kris slightly turned around and gave her girlfriend a kiss before strapping on their helmets and getting them underway. The photographer watched them leave and started the motor soon after and followed at a reasonable distance.
Mark watched as Kris stopped the motorcycle in front of Maisonneuve Studios where the small blonde woman got off the bike, took her helmet off and fastened it to the Harley. The photographer took his camera again and took a few more shots of both women who were chatting together. The blonde kissed Kris and then turned to walk towards the studios, waving goodbye at the stuntwoman. Mark quickly wrote the studio address in his book and watched her open the door and walk in the building, then put the car in gear, following Kris.
About 45 minutes later, Kris arrived at the Canadian Stunt School just outside of Montreal. She parked her motorcycle in front of the large building that looked like a hangar and watched her walk in. Taking his camera and bag, Mark climbed out of his car and proceeded to walk around the area, wanting to know the layout of the school so he could find the best places to hide and take his pictures. He only wished that the school managers wouldn't be against photographers walking the school area. It would make his job much easier. He remembered the story of the last photographer who had tried to make his way on the grounds without being approved. He had been accused of trespassing and found himself being fined for it. Mark didn't have that kind of cash to throw away. Claire, the journalist he had spoken to, had promised him access to the school if ever Kris agreed to being interviewed. But he couldn't wait until then. A lot of people were interested in having pictures of the famous stuntwoman and he didn't want to let good deals go by.
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Kris watched as the students practiced and went through the newly learned routine. The day had gone by without any problems. The students for the week were experienced stuntpeople wanting to polish their skills. She didn't have to deal with rookie stuntmen this time, which made her job easier. That would only come the week after. Kris' job at the school was to teach general stunts dealing with cars, which meant racing on an obstacle course, teaching controlled skidding, rollovers, jumps and collisions. Another aspect of her lessons would be to teach the stuntpeople how to get 'hit' by a car without being injured.
The new instructors had been warmly welcomed this morning by the regular teachers and Kris was happy to see that most of them were accomplished stuntmen and extremely good at their specialties. The school was very well equipped and had plenty of space outside for performing. There was a hangar, providing rooms to teach the different stunts, high towers and walls to practice falls and climbing, and a full gymnasium to keep everybody in shape. Another area was set apart from everything and was reserved for the most dangerous of all stunts, those concerning fire and explosives.
Kris nodded with a smile as the students finished their routines and waved at her on their way to the locker rooms for a well-deserved shower. All that remained to do now was to enter into the school's computer all the notes taken concerning the students. 'Not the most interesting part of the job.' Kris told herself as she made her way back towards the instructor's office.
Walking passed the receptionist, the young girl quickly reached for a piece of paper and waved at Kris. "Ms Von Deering!" the girl called. "You have a message."
Kris suddenly stopped at the sound of her name being called and turned around to take the pink slip of paper and smiled at the young girl. "Thanks." She continued walking down the corridor towards her assigned desk and sat down in front of her computer. Looking at her message, she frowned slightly at the name above the phone number. Kris had expected the message to be from Nicole but she couldn't think of who Claire Gilbert was. As she was about to reach for the phone, when the school director leaned against her desk and smiled at her.
"Something wrong?" Marcus asked, seeing Kris frowning.
"Somebody left a message to call back but I don't know her." Kris said as she handed the paper to the director. "Some woman from Chatelaine. Do you know who she is?"
Marcus quickly scanned the name and nodded. "Yep, she's a journalist working for a magazine. She did a story on the school last year. Maybe she wants to do one about you."
"Why me?" Kris asked. "There's ten instructors teaching here, why can't she pick somebody else?" she grumbled.
"Maybe because you're the first stuntwoman to teach here in the past five years?" he chuckled. He knew from her reputation that Kris didn't like to be singled out like this when interviews were concerned. "Besides, it's good publicity for the school right?" he smiled as he turned around and left her to make her own decision.
Kris was about to reach for the phone again when her cell phone rang. She quickly took it out of its leather casing and answered. "Hello?"
"Hi!" A cheerful voice sounded at the other end of the line. "Am I calling at a bad time?" Nicole asked.
Kris smiled as she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "Hi love. No, your timing's perfect. How's your day?"
"It's great!" Nicole said enthusiastically. "There's so much to learn here. I've been teamed up with a woman who's been working behind the camera for twenty years! She's very nice and told me that she would give me as much work behind the camera as possible. She's willing to teach me as much as she can."
"I'm glad that you like your new job." Kris said as she looked down at her watch. "Are you on a regular schedule? What time do you finish working?"
"We are. I start at 6 in the morning and finish at 6pm, Monday to Friday. We have two talk shows to do, but I've been told it's pretty much basic filming. How was your first day?"
"Not too bad. I'm the only female instructor here but the guys are fun." Kris smiled as two instructors walked into the office and started pelting each other with paper balls. "I have about one hour of paperwork to do and then I'll be on my way to pick you up. Anything special you want to eat tonight?"
"Hmmm," Nicole was silent for a moment, "Yes, you." She purred.
Kris could feel the blush crawling all over her face as she heard Nicole say the words in a seductive voice. She looked up at the stuntmen who were watching her with smiles on their faces.
"I don't know who's on the other end but I sure would love to find out what's being said!" the tall and muscular stuntman said with a wink in Kris' direction.
"Aw, just look at that face!" the other chimed in. "Whoever can make the great Kristina blush this way must be real special."
"Guys." Kris growled playfully and turned her attention back to a giggling Nicole.
"So I'm special huh?" Nicole teased her lover. "I miss you." She said more seriously. "Can't wait to be home with you."
"I miss you too." Kris smiled into the phone. "How about Chinese for supper and me for desert?"
"Oooh, I can live with that! Well, I have to go. See you soon?"
"You got it. Bye." Kris closed the connection and put her cell phone back into her leather casing attached to her belt. She looked at the instructors who were still grinning at her and she shook her head. "You guys are just like kids." She laughed and started working on the computer.
Having finished her work at the school, Kris had left to get Nicole and then stopped briefly at the Chinese restaurant to order and have the food delivered to the house. Both women had eaten and talked about their own first day at work, sharing interesting events that had happened. Kris and Nicole had then settled comfortably in their bed, watching the movie playing on the TV with a distracted eye.
"Did you reach the reporter that left you a message at the school?" Nicole asked as she cuddled against Kris, her hand slowly gliding all over the stuntwoman's stomach. Kris had mentioned the call while they were eating.
"Hmm mm." Kris mumbled as she closed her eyes, enjoying Nicole's soft touch. "She'd like to come over to the school for an interview. Marcus, he's the school's director, said it would be good publicity."
"You don't sound like it's a good idea." Nicole said.
"I agree with the publicity for the school. They could use some. It's just that I don't trust reporters." Kris stated. "The interviews you give don't always sound the same on paper. What they usually want to know about is your personal life. They don't care about the professional one."
"If you don't answer the personal questions, you should be okay, right?"
Kris smiled at the question. If only it could be that simple. No matter what she did, she couldn't control what the reporters would write. If they wanted a story out, they would write it with or without her help. All she could do was keep her answers as simple as possible and avoid any questions concerning her private life. "Do you know anything about that reporter?" Kris asked as she gently brushed Nicole's hair.
"I don't know her personally," Nicole replied, "But I've seen a couple of articles she wrote, mainly about women doing out-of-the-ordinary jobs. The interviews are very well done. She's not one of those that write gossip columns."
"So you think I should agree to the interview?" Kris asked with a smile. The blonde head lifted off Kris' chest and green eyes looked at her gently.
"I know you told me that you weren't too fond of interviews, but I think Claire can do an interesting one. I'm sure the school's director would be happy too. When does she wants to do it?"
Kris sighed and closed her eyes as Nicole softly kissed her chest. "Marcus would prefer this Saturday. It would be less hectic than on a normal school day. He's going to ask for a couple of students to show up and do some demonstrations. Would you like to come to the school with me Saturday?"
"Can I?" Nicole asked as she looked at Kris once more.
"I'd like for you to be there with me, Nick." Kris smiled and kissed Nicole softly on the lips.
"I'd love to go and see the school. Will you be doing a stunt for the interview? Even though it makes me nervous, I'd love to see you perform."
"You would huh?" Kris asked softly. "We could always prepare something." Kris lifted the smaller woman off the bed and gently leaned her on top of her body, then wrapped her arms around Nicole's slim waist. "I'll let Marcus know that I agree to the interview and that you'll be there with me."
Kris kissed Nicole again and let her hands wander over her lover's back and buttocks. She smiled as she heard the soft moan coming from Nicole and deepened her kiss.
******************************
Claire Gilbert smiled when she saw the stunt school's grounds. The reporter couldn't believe her luck at the chance to interview the famous stuntwoman. So many people had tried, only to have their requests refused. 'Why did Kristina agree this time?' Claire asked herself as she guided her car towards the visitors parking area. The short conversation on the phone with the Austrian had been pleasant at best and the reporter found herself looking forward to meeting the dark-haired woman in person.
Sitting beside Claire in the car was Mark Dunham. The freelance photographer had been the one that contacted Claire and had informed her of the stuntwoman's presence in Montreal. She was grateful to Mark for that information and to thank him for it had hired the photographer to take the official pictures that would be added to the article.
Stepping out of the car and taking her attaché case with her, Claire shut the door behind her and made her way towards a tall, dark-haired woman who was talking with a much shorter man. Looking down at the 8 x 10 photograph she had on her clipboard, she recognized immediately the Austrian stuntwoman. Her black, unbuttoned shirt, which showed a white tee shirt underneath, was tucked neatly in faded blue jeans. Both of Kristina's hands were deep into her jeans' pockets and she scuffed one of her hiking boots on the ground as she listened to the man standing before her. Claire remembered the short man sporting a crewcut as being the school's director.
Standing right beside Kristina and Marcus was a petite woman who was listening silently to what they were saying. Claire watched as the blonde looked up at Kristina when the taller woman leaned her arm across her shoulder and smiled gently, giving Kris a quick hug and then let her go. The reporter heard Marcus laugh and saw him slowly scan the grounds and then noticed her.
"Ms Gilbert!" Marcus said with a smile as he started walking towards the reporter, holding out his hand to shake hers. "Nice to see you at the school again."
"Thank you for the permission to do this interview." Claire smiled back. She looked over the director's shoulder at the tall woman walking slowly towards them. "And thanks to you too Ms Von Deering."
"Please," the stuntwoman smiled, "Call me Kris." She said as she shook Claire's hand. "And this is my friend, Nicole."
"Hi." Nicole smiled.
"Nice to meet you." Claire smiled back. "And this is the photographer who will be taking a few pictures today." Claire said as she looked at him.
"Mark Dunham." He introduced himself. "Don't pay any attention to me," he smiled as he showed his camera. "I'll be taking a few shots throughout the interview."
Kris nodded as she watched the photographer get ready to start his job. She turned her attention to the reporter and smiled. "So, how would you like to start this interview?" Kris asked, suddenly wishing this to be over with.
"Well, I toured the school the last time I came here so why don't we just sit somewhere and talk?" Claire said as she indicated a bench near a maple tree and started walking towards it. "I know you must be very busy and I don't want to take too much of your time."
Kris smiled and nodded again. 'I am not going to argue with this!' Kris thought as they all sat at the picnic table. "You don't mind if Nicole and Marcus stay here with us?" she asked the reporter.
"Of course not." Claire smiled as she took her note pad out of her attaché case, put her recorder on the table and started it. "Before we start," Claire spoke into the recorder, "I would like to have Ms Kristina Von Deering's only condition to this interview be noted, which is that no questions concerning her private life will be asked." She looked up at Kris and smiled. "Now that we have this out of the way, let's start this interview.
Nicole listened silently as Kris answered the questions being asked about her career as a stuntwoman. She understood the reason for Kris wanting her to sit throughout the interview. It was the perfect way for her to learn a little more about Kris and her career. True to her promise, not a single question was asked about Kris' private life. Claire stuck to asking questions concerning her professional life only, about the different movies and projects she had worked on and her present work at the stunt school. Nicole smiled as she remembered Kris' reaction when Claire had asked Kris of all the people she had met, who had impressed or influenced her the most in her life. The dark-haired woman had smiled and turned to look at Nicole briefly, letting her know that Nicole was the one before Kris looked back at the reporter to answer. 'How could she say I'm the one? We've only known each other for less than two months.' Nicole asked herself but didn't complain. Nicole knew that the reporter had meant professionally, but it had felt so damn good to know that in her private life, she was the most important person to Kris.
The interview had continued for some time and by the time it was over, Nicole saw that Kris was completely relaxed. The photographer had taken a lot of pictures of Kris, and Nicole was sure that she would be in a few of them. She didn't mind really. It just felt weird to know there was a chance that her face would end up in a magazine. Kris had warned her of that possibility. She had smiled at Kris and the only thing she said was that she hoped that if they chose a picture of the both of them together, it would be a good one. The reply had made Kris laugh and had earned her a hug.
"Well, that was very informative Kris," Claire said as she shut the recorder off. "Thank you very much."
"My pleasure." Kris smiled as she got up from the picnic table with Nicole and Marcus doing the same.
"You mentioned something to me about hoping to have a chance to see Kristina in action right?" Marcus asked the reporter. This was the first time he had spoken since the beginning of the interview. He had asked to be present just in case Kris needed help with any information concerning the school, but Kris had done very well by herself. She had even surprised him by all the knowledge she already had.
"I'd love to see that yes." Claire smiled as she looked at Kris. "If it's not too much to ask."
"No trouble at all." Kris said as she started walking. "If you'll follow me."
The small group headed towards a waiting helicopter. Not too far away, some of the school's instructors and students were making the last minute preparations on a fifty-foot square airbag. The crew had started inflating the bag with the help of electric blowers as soon as the interview was finished and saw Kris head their way. The photographer continued taking pictures as Kris made a check of the rigging, the huge plastic sack used for high falls being the most important. She talked briefly with the stunt crew and helicopter pilot before turning towards Nicole, each speaking softly to the other.
Kris knew that the photographer was still there taking pictures and suddenly wished that he would leave for a moment, but there was still the reporter watching them and the whole crew present. She sighed as she looked at Nicole and then smiled. "Hey, you okay?" Kris asked gently, seeing the worried look on Nicole's face.
Nicole looked up at Kris and nodded. 'No I'm not okay!' Nicole wanted to scream. 'I changed my mind. I don't want to see you throw yourself out of a helicopter to land on top of a huge pillow!' "Just a little nervous I guess." Nicole gave her a little smile.
"Everything will be okay. I've done this stunt many times before." Kris said reassuringly. "It's just a demonstration, I'm not going for a world record." She joked, hoping to ease Nicole's nervousness. She started to reach for Nicole's cheek but stopped in mid movement as she heard the distinct clicks of pictures being taken. A hard stare in the photographer's direction from Kris made the man swallow and take a few steps back away from both women. Kris turned her attention back to Nicole. "It'll be over before you know it. See you in a bit." She said and winked. She reached into her jeans' pocket and took an elastic band out and tied her hair back so she wouldn't be blinded in mid fall.
"Please be careful?" Nicole said in a shaky voice as she softly touched Kris' arm. All she wanted to do was to hug Kris and never let her go. 'Get over it Nick!' she told herself, 'That's her job, she's used to this. Everything is done as securely as possible. She won't take unnecessarily risks.'
"I always am." She grinned and gently lay her hand over Nicole's then heard another picture being taken. She shook her head and sighed, "Photographers!" she breathed. She squeezed Nicole's hand and smiled, then turned around and made her way towards the waiting helicopter.
Nicole watched Kris go and took a deep breath, trying to get her nerves under control. She knew that she would be nervous watching Kris perform, having seen Neilson do the same and had reacted in a similar fashion, but she never expected to be a nervous wreck. Her heart was beating so fast against her chest it hurt. 'Kris is a professional stuntwoman,' Nicole told herself over and over again. 'Everything will be okay.' She watched as Kris stepped on the helicopter skid, put a headset on and adjusted the microphone, grabbed the harness near the door, then waved at her. Nicole smiled and waved back, looking as the copter slowly lifted off the ground, carrying Kris standing on the skid outside the helicopter. Nicole made her way back towards the reporter who was listening to Marcus giving her information about the stunt to be performed.
"Since we don't have any buildings several hundred feet tall on the school grounds," Nicole heard Marcus explain, "Kris will fall out of the helicopter and onto that bag over there." He indicated the sack that was kept continuously inflated.
"Isn't it too high of a fall for such a bag?" Claire asked the director.
Marcus shook his head. "Some stunt performers have done falls of 300 feet with such a bag, so this isn't out of the ordinary."
'Oh my God!' Nicole exclaimed silently. 'I didn't realize it would be so high.' She watched as the helicopter hovered above the landing site with Kris hanging on to the seat strap, slightly bending over looking down. Kris had her back against the open door and was making hand gestures, probably giving the pilot directions, Nicole thought.
"Recent techniques makes it possible to do high falls without a catcher of any kind." Marcus continued with his explanations, indicating the airbag. "We call it a ratchet fall. It's done with a small but powerful mechanism that pays out steel cable and seizes up at a predetermined length, leaving the stunt performer dangling in a harness. The stop is abrupt but, if done properly, doesn't harm the human being or machinery."
"Why didn't Kris do something with this ratchet mechanism instead of using a bag?" Claire asked as she kept her eyes on the helicopter above.
"The ratchet takes a long time to setup properly. This way," Marcus explained indicating the airbag and copter, "It's much simpler."
"But this is more dangerous, right? I heard about stuntmen breaking their necks when they landed." The reporter said.
"Yes, I'm sorry to say that's true." The director agreed. "But Kristina has done this stunt on a regular basis. She knows what to expect."
'I really didn't need to hear this!' Nicole grumbled to herself and stepped away from Marcus and the reporter. She already had too much information. All she wanted was for the stunt to be done as soon as possible and go back home with Kris in one piece.
Kris looked down again and directed the helicopter pilot slightly to the right again. "Okay, hold!" she yelled into the microphone so she would be heard over the sound of the rotors above her and the wind. She could see the safeties surrounding the airbag below, mainly the school's instructors staying close to the action with keen eyes looking out for trouble. The medical team they had hired for the stunt waited close by in case something did go wrong. Shifting her eyes slightly, she noticed the photographer, Marcus and Claire together and then standing by herself was Nicole looking up at her.
It was normal to have people worry about a coming performance. Usually that meant the stunt director, in Kris' case that meant her older brother Franz, but she had been touched by her lover's nervous reaction. Kris was sure that Nicole hadn't seen too many stunts being performed, at least not enough to get used to it. 'Or would Nicole ever get used to it no matter how many stunts she saw?' Kris asked herself. She shook her head and tried to focus on her performance. Thinking about Nicole right now was the worst thing Kris could do. She needed all of her concentration and thinking about the smiling young woman waiting for her below didn't help at all. That smile and sparkling green eyes, those gentle hands and soft skin… "That's enough!" she chastised herself forgetting that she still wore her headset and microphone.
"What was that?" the helicopter pilot asked.
"Move slightly left," Kris replied, upset at her lack of control when Nicole was concerned. "Okay, hold!" Kris slipped her headset off and reached her left arm back, handing it to a waiting crewmember. She took another deep breath and went through the movements mentally one last time. She stared down at the black mark on the white airbag indicating the center and relaxed her body, preparing herself for the fall.
Nicole held her breath as Kris lifted her left arm up in the air. 'This is it.' She told herself with a mix of nerve-wracking nervousness and excitement. She watched as her lover let herself smoothly fall off the helicopter skid and plunged headfirst towards the airbag. Kris' fall was so graceful, she looked like she was flying. Both of her legs were kept closed together while her arms were stretched out on either side of her body. Nicole could see the beginning of a roll as Kris let her body tumble head over heels, preparing herself to land on her back.
Kris loved this kind of stunt. What a sensation it was to fall, free of any harnesses or cables, just to feel the wind and air brushing against her body and face. Nothing holding her back, no fancy equipment to rely upon save for the airbag waiting for her below. She felt like a bird every time she performed this way. But she knew the sensation only lasted for a moment as she gave her body an angle, preparing her landing procedures. Slight tilt of the head forward, a gentle hunch of her shoulders and she could feel her body turn upside down, ready to land on the inflatable bag on her back. The only downside of this kind of stunt was the landing, which she knew could steal your breath away. Relaxing her body as best she could, Kris let herself fall gracefully and waited for the impact.
The only sound that could be heard was the regular hum of the electrical blowers constantly pushing air into the airbag and the noise of the helicopter still hovering above. All of the crew was watching the Austrian stuntwoman free fall, silently counting the seconds before Kris hit the bag. Nicole, the reporter and Marcus were also watching in silence as Kris' strong body toppled and shifted position in mid air. The only one moving was the photographer who kept his camera aimed towards the stuntwoman and took continuous shots of the stunt being performed. Kris hit the airbag with a violent crash, the vents along the sides split open on impact letting air escape the bag. The sack started deflating immediately and the crew ran towards the bag, trying to reach the stuntwoman amid the floating plastic sack.
Kris held her eyes tightly shut and tried desperately to get some air into her lungs. The force of the impact, as predicted, had been enough for Kris to lose her breath and left her gasping for air. She was faintly aware of shouting voices around her, knowing that it was the safeties trying to reach her to check for any injuries. Feeling her body sink in the middle of the bag as it deflated, Kris slowly moved her arms, legs and neck to see if everything was all right.
The sound of Kris' body hitting the airbag had been too much for Nicole and she started running towards the working crew. She watched nervously, biting her lower lip as she waited for news about Kris, faintly aware of Marcus standing beside her. A loud call was heard coming from somewhere on the bag and then silence. Nicole's body started shaking as the seconds spent waiting seemed like hours. "She's going to be okay, right?" Nicole asked the director without taking her eyes off the working crew. Another call was heard and Nicole saw the medics approach the completely deflated bag with a stretcher complete with medical cases and oxygen bottle. Nicole started to move towards the group but strong hands held her back.
"Let them work Nicole." Marcus said softly as he kept his eyes on the crew. "This is normal procedure." He explained as they watched one of the medics make his way through the assembled men. A loud cheering was heard and Marcus smiled.
Having gotten her breathing back under control and after she made sure that nothing was broken, Kris slowly stood up and nodded weakly to the assembled crew. The men whooped in relief and clapped her on the back. She smiled as she made her way out of the plastic bag, her only thought right now was to find Nicole and let her know that she was okay. She knew that the younger woman must be scared stiff right about now. Helped by a medic, Kris stepped out into the clear and heard a strangled squeak coming from in front of her. Kris lifted her eyes to see Nicole breaking free from Marcus' grasp and started running towards her. Kris grinned as she opened her arms and let them wrap themselves tightly around Nicole's slim waist as soon as the smaller woman was in her arms.
The photographer quickly lifted his camera to take a few pictures but was quickly stopped by Marcus. "Give them some time okay?" the director said in a voice that bore no argument.
"Oh God!" Nicole whispered, her face deep in Kris' chest, as both arms locked solidly behind the taller woman's neck. "Are you okay?" she could feel the tears start to form in her eyes, the tension in her body suddenly breaking loose.
"I'm fine Nick." Kris said as she gently kissed her head. "I got the wind knocked out of me but that was expected." She explained. Neither woman moved, giving each other time to get their emotions under control once more. Kris could breathe better now and she felt Nicole relax in her arms, her body slowly stop shaking. Kris lifted her eyes and looked behind Nicole at the approaching reporter. It was too late to break the embrace. Kris was sure now that the reporter knew that Nicole was more than just a friend and she didn't care. Nicole needed her right now and all that mattered was to reassure her lover that everything was okay.
Claire smiled as she watched both women. She had seen the looks that the both of them had exchanged and she had guessed that something was going on between them. Claire gave them a few more minutes before addressing the stuntwoman. "That was incredible Kristina." She said as Nicole moved slightly to look at her. "I saw some incredible stunts the last time I was here but this was awesome." Claire smiled at the both of them.
Nicole wiped her tears from her eyes and cheeks and started to take a step away from Kris only to be held where she was by Kris' strong arm around her waist. She looked up startled at her lover who smiled back at her. 'I guess there's no reason now to try and keep our relationship a secret.' Nicole smiled to herself. She was glad that she could hold on to Kris. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to let her go.
"I'm glad you liked the show Claire." Kris gave Nicole a little squeeze and then smiled at the reporter. "If we're done with the interview, we'd like to be on our way." Kris told the woman before them and kept her eyes locked on Claire's. After everything that the reporter had witnessed between Nicole and herself, the real test would soon follow. Would Claire keep her promise and keep the interview as it was supposed to be originally or will she join the ranks of so many reporters and lower herself to the rank of a gossip columnist?
"Yes, we're done. Thank you for your time Kristina." She said with a smile as she shook the stuntwoman's hand. "I'm sure it will be a very good article." Claire then turned her attention to Nicole. "It was also nice to meet you Nicole." The reporter looked at Kris again and held her gaze seeing the slight frown on the beautiful face. "You don't have to worry, the article will uniquely be about your professional career." Claire said and watched Kris' shoulder relax slightly. "Even though I'd love to be able to write about your personal story Kris. It would be nice to read the truth instead of all those rumors." She smiled.
Kris laughed. "Always looking for a good story, huh?" She smiled. "I'm afraid my life would be pretty boring to most readers. Not enough juicy events."
"Well," Claire laughed, "If you ever change your mind, give me a call." She said as she handed Kris her business card. "Take care you two." With these final words, the reporter left with the photographer trailing behind her.
"That was interesting." Nicole said as she gave Kris a hug. "What did she mean by wanting to write the truth?" she asked Kris as they started walking towards the picnic table where Kris had done the interview. They sat down and Nicole watched as Kris played with the splintered tabletop, looking deep in thought. Maybe it hadn't been the best question to ask Kris, Nicole thought.
So many things had been written that were false like her many lovers all over the world. Kris shook her head at the thought. She did have a few lovers in her life but nothing like the press claimed she had. They made her look like a female Valentino. Most of the people she had been photographed with had been acquaintances only. The funniest thing was that her true lovers had never been photographed, until Nicole that is. On the other hand, some of what had been written was partly true but exaggerated quite a bit. She had never acted like a spoiled celebrity on any movie set. Yes, she did have a bad temper and easily lost it, but only when faced with gross stupidity coming from a crewmember that risked causing injury with his carelessness. And the fact that she rarely attended showbusiness parties wasn't because she was a snob but because she couldn't stand all that hypocrisy that went on around her. She had more important things to do than to participate in half lies and idle chitchat.
Kris looked at Nicole again. Why would she want to hang around artificial people when she had such a sweet and gentle woman that loved her so much. The last thing Kris wanted to do was introduce Nicole to that type of crowd. Remembering Nicole's question, Kris sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "It's just that so many rumors were written, most of them total lies. Claire believes that my real story would be interesting to the public. I'm not sure I want them to see the real me."
"You mean you don't want the world to know that you're such a warm, gentle and caring human being?" Nicole grinned and laughed at seeing the blush on Kris' face.
"Hey there!" Marcus chuckled as he sat at the table with Kris and Nicole. "Are you guys coming to the party later on? We're all going to Henry's."
Kris looked at Nicole's face and saw the slight hesitation there. The slightest frown on Nicole's brow told Kris the answer to that question. "I'm sorry Marcus," Kris apologized with a smile. "But we have something planned already."
"That's too bad." He replied a little disappointed but smiled anyway. "It would have been great if you'd join us." The director stood up and patted Nicole on her arm. "It was great meeting you Nicole. Hope I'll see you again."
"Thanks for having me here." Nicole smiled.
Marcus nodded and then looked at Kris. "And we'll see each other Monday. Have a good weekend. Great stunt by the way." He smiled and started walking back towards the waiting crew.
"Thanks." Kris smiled as she and Nicole stood up themselves. "So. You ready for some shopping?" Kris grinned as she leaned her arm across Nicole's shoulder, tugging the smaller woman closer to her and headed towards the black Harley.
"Don't you want to rest a little bit after a stunt like that?" Nicole asked. "I'm sure we can go for the party supplies a little later on."
Kris smiled and shook her head. "Nah, I feel fine. Besides, Alex's going away party is tonight. It doesn't give us much time to get ready."
"I'm going to miss her." Nicole said in a small voice. "I hope that everything will go well for her in Africa."
"I'm sure it will." Kris assured the younger woman. "Movie crews on location have everything they need with them."
Nicole nodded silently. Kris could see that something besides missing her cousin was bothering her. "Nicole?" Kris asked softly. "What is it?" she gently lifted Nicole's chin and made the smaller woman look at her.
She opened her mouth to say something but closed it quickly, then tried again but with the same results. Nicole softly shook her head not able to look at Kris' blue eyes gazing at her intensely.
"What is it?" Kris asked again.
Nicole took a deep breath and this time, looked at Kris. "It's just that it reminded me that you'll also leave soon." She could hear her voice cracking and bit her lip. 'Damn! I promised myself I wouldn't say anything!' she berated herself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring this up."
"I'm glad you did Nicole." Kris said softly. "Because there's something I'd like to…well, I want to…" Kris could feel the nervousness grab a hold of her. She'd never thought she'd be asking this one day. But looking at Nicole's face, she knew that the young woman standing in front of her was the one. When she looked at Nicole, she felt like she had known her for her entire life and more. She couldn't explain it but it felt great. She wanted to share her life with Nicole. She knew that Nicole loved her, but what Kris was about to propose couldn't be decided in a hurry. She wanted to give Nicole more time to get used to their lives together here, but she also knew that Nicole would need time to think her plan over and be really sure.
"Kris?" Nicole asked, suddenly worried. "I'm sorry. I…"
Kris gently took the smaller hands in hers and held them tight. "When I came here, I had a job to do." Kris started as she looked at their entwined hands. "I was going to perform the best way I knew how and spend my free time working on my horse breeding program until I went home." A small smile tugged at Kris' lips and she looked up to see green eyes looking back at her. "But I didn't expect what happened after I got here. I met the best friend I could ever wish for."
Nicole could feel her heart beating solidly against her chest. She had started to panic at hearing Kris' serious tone of voice. Only the smile she had on her lips calmed her somewhat, but now she was confused. Where was she going with this? Could she be so lucky as to have Kris decide to stay in Montreal with her? 'But that's insane, she's got too much going in Austria. She can't just leave everything there to stay here!' "But Kris…"
"Please, let me finish." Kris asked gently and waited until Nicole nodded. "Your friendship is such a great gift to me Nicole, I don't know what I would do if I ever lost that." She took another deep breath and squeezed Nicole's hands. "But now things have changed." Kris saw the instant panic on Nicole's face and quickly smiled and gently kissed her lips. "What I mean is, what I feel for you is so much more than just friendship Nicole. I'm in love with you and I don't want to let you go."
Nicole could feel tears start to form in her eyes and her chest tightened at seeing so much love on her lover's face.
"I know that we've known each other for less than two months now, but I feel like we've know each other forever." She gently brought Nicole's hands to her lips and kissed them. "What I'm trying to say is…but I want you to really think about it before you say anything okay?"
The only thing Nicole could do was to nod silently, unable to take her eyes away from Kris'.
"What I'd like…if you want…is for you to…I mean, I…" Kris closed her eyes briefly to try to get her shaking body under control. She never thought it would be so hard to say. Not because she didn't want to, but because the emotions she was feeling right now made it hard for her to express herself. 'You're also afraid she'll refuse, admit it Kris.'
"Just say it Kris." Nicole said softly. She watched as her lover's body slowly relaxed and her eyelids opened to expose sparkling blue eyes.
"I'd love for you to come live with me in Austria Nicole." 'There! I've said it!'
Nicole wanted to scream in joy. Did she really ask her to move to Austria with her? She was hoping that Kris would decide to stay here but the thought of her going there had been the last hopeful thought she ever had. Kris just stood there, a mix of fear and hopefulness on her face. "I know you want me to think it over Kris," she smiled, "But you won't get rid of me so easily. I want to stay with you love." Nicole found herself tightly wrapped in strong arms. She could feel Kris' fast beating heart against her chest. "I love you."
"I love you too." Kris whispered in Nicole's hair. She was so relieved that Nicole hadn't refused. She didn't know what she would have done otherwise. They still had many weeks left together in Montreal and she really wanted Nicole to be completely sure of her decision. Her moving to a foreign country would be the very first big decision Nicole would make. She already made the first one by deciding to leave her father's house that fateful night.
"Come on, we have a party to prepare for." Nicole smiled. One of the things she wanted to do was to let Alex know about the news. She could always talk to her cousin and she wanted to make sure that what she wanted to do was right. She wished that she could make her own decisions by herself and not have to ask for anybody's opinion. That was the result of having lived for so long with such an overbearing man like her father. She wished she had a lot more self-confidence than she really had. Why couldn't she be more like Alex or maybe Kris?
They quietly climbed the motorcycle and made their way towards home, both of them lost in their own thoughts, but both women happy with the outcome of the conversation.
******************************
Coming back from the stunt school, Kris had put her motorcycle in the garage and then had taken the rented Pathfinder out to go shopping for the party supplies. Renting a vehicle for the time she'd spend in Montreal had been the last thing Kris wanted to do, figuring that bringing her Harley Davidson from Austria was enough for her. But she had Nicole with her now and it made more sense in having something comfortable to drive in, where they could talk without having to scream to be heard and especially since sometimes Nicole felt like taking a nap on the way back from work. Something that was impossible to do on a motorcycle.
The playroom in Kris' house had been fully decorated with brightly colored balloons. The stuntwoman had offered to hire a catering service to take care of the food for the party, something she was used to doing when entertaining guests at her estate in Innsbruck. Nicole, thanking her for the generous offer, had explained that everybody was bringing their own specialties and besides, it was more fun this way, you never knew what to expect to eat! With a grin, she had told Kris that she was looking forward to eating some of her aunt Michelle's chicken wings, Uncle Robert's Irish stew and Neilson's sugar pie. The rest of the guests; Neilson's girlfriend Anne, Alex and her girlfriend Sophie would also bring something. Knowing that she couldn't offer anything to the potluck with her very limited cooking skills, Kris had insisted on buying beer, wine and soft drinks for the party.
All of the invited guests had arrived at Kris' house by 7 pm and Alex's going-away party was now in full swing. Nicole took a look around the spacious play room and watched with an amused grin as Kris played a game of pool with her uncle, Robert. The poor man had lost three games in a row and was swearing that this time he was going to win. Kris had chuckled and prepared the table for another round. Her aunt Michelle was sitting not too far away, teasing her husband about his lack of skill at playing pool. Neilson quickly defended Robert by jokingly saying that Kris had simply too much or too many skills. Kris had grinned at the men and agreed, then winked at Nicole as she let Robert start a new game.
Sitting on the sofa, Nicole could see Sophie trying to get a conversation going with Neilson's girlfriend, but Anne was a woman that was in a permanent state of grumpiness and didn't look too interested in being at the party. The French woman shrugged her shoulders at Alex, stood up and went to sit beside Michelle to watch the pool players. Nicole wondered what Neilson ever saw in Anne. She was everything he wasn't. A strong hand squeezed her shoulder and Nicole looked up to see Alex smiling at her.
"Hey!" Nicole grinned. "How do you like your going-away party?" Nicole asked.
Alex shook her head and laughed. "I'm coming back after the shooting is done you know that, don't you?" she teased. "You make it sound like we'll never see each other again!" Alex teased. She watched as Nicole silently nodded and felt there was something her cousin wanted to talk about. Alex scanned the room and seeing that everybody was busy watching the pool game, she gently hooked her arm on Nicole's and smiled. "Why don't we go outside for some air, okay?"
Nicole nodded again and followed her cousin outside in the backyard and quietly walked to the lakeshore. They sat on the grass and silently watched and listened as the small, full moon lit waves broke against the rocks, the light wind gently ruffled the leaves in the trees. Nicole took a deep breath, wanting to talk to Alex about Kris' offer but didn't know how to start. Even though she knew that Kris had asked her to think about it, Nicole had made her decision, she wanted to live with Kris. She couldn't imagine life without her. 'We got so close so fast it's scary,' Nicole thought to herself, 'But in a good sense.' She added with a smile. Maybe what she wanted to hear from Alex was that she had made the right decision. "How do I say this?'
"Kris asked me to live with her." Nicole blurted out, not finding any other way to say it. She shyly looked at her cousin and saw a confused look on her face.
"Hmm Nicole? You've been doing that for some time now." She joked.
"In Austria." Nicole added as she distractedly pulled at the blades of grass. "She wants me to move in with her in Innsbruck."
Alex softly blew a breath as the words registered in her mind. "Wow!" Was all she could say for the moment. They continued looking out at the lake in silence for some time before Alex spoke again. "How do you feel about that?"
Nicole thought about that for a moment then looked at Alex and smiled. "Thrilled and scared?" She replied honestly. "Thrilled to have a chance to do something I always dreamed of doing, not only to visit another country but to actually live there!" Nicole exclaimed. "And I'd be living my life with the most beautiful woman I ever saw Alex, somebody who really loves me. What else can I ask for?"
"Then why do you say you're scared?" Alex asked gently.
"Because I'd be leaving everything behind." She replied softly. "My friends, my family…"
"Listen to me Nick," Alex said as she knelt and looked at her cousin and friend. "Do you want to live with Kris?" she asked.
"Wh…yes, I do. But…"
"Do you think you'd be happy there with her?" she continued, not giving Nicole a chance to elaborate.
Nicole didn't hesitate. "Of course I would, but…"
"Then go for it girl." Alex said simply. "Nick, something wonderful is happening to you. Grab the chance. I know you'll miss your friends here, but we can always talk on the phone and e-mail each other every day." She grinned. "As for the family, I'm sure Mom and Dad will be thrilled for you. They really like Kris you know?" She watched as Nicole gave her a small smile and knew what she was thinking. "As for your father," Alex continued, trying hard not to let her hate of the man show on her face, "After what he did to you, he has no right to tell you how to live your life. You're an adult now and you're allowed to make decisions by yourself. If you make good ones, they will be your own success, nobody else's."
"But what if I make the wrong ones?" Nicole asked softly.
'You mean what if it doesn't work with Kris, don't you my friend?' "Then you'll be able to say that you learned something." She smiled. "And by learning from experience, it only makes us stronger. Don't ever forget that you have people here who love you Nick, no matter what."
Nicole could feel the tears falling down her cheeks and she smiled at Alex. "I won't forget. Thanks Alex." She said sincerely. But she couldn't help thinking about her father. Even after all he had done, he was still her father and she loved him. He wasn't always like that. She remembered a long time ago a gentler man, a loving father and a happy family life. Nicole hoped that she could see that again if only once before she left to start a new life with Kris.
"Hey," Alex said softly, causing Nicole to break out of her thoughts. "There's a party happening in there." She said, indicating the house. "Maybe we should go before they discover that the guest of honor has disappeared!"
Nicole laughed as she wiped her tears and nodded. "You're right."
"I still have one week before I go. Let's see how much trouble I can cause in the meantime!" Alex grinned and both laughed as they got up and walked back to the house where they could hear laughter and gentle ribbing going on. "I think Dad lost another pool game. Kris is amazing you know that?"
"Yep, I sure do." Nicole smiled, thinking of her lover. "She really does have many skills." She replied, missing the sudden blush on her cousin's face.
"Come on." Alex chuckled as she shook her head. 'Ahh, love!!'